Apparatus for spraying plants.



No. 762,014. PATENTED JUNE 7, 1904.

L. WITTBOLD.

APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING PLANTS. APPLICATION rnnn 0015,1903. 11o MODEL.

E s a A 11 a 5 7 (B 3 I u 5L a 6L I 4 A 1 rangement of pipes within thegreenhouse and to the means by wh ch their simultaneous op eration iseffected; and the invention finally Patented June 7, 1904 PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS wiTTBoLD, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

' APPARATUS FOR'SPRAYING PLANTS- SPEGIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 762,014, dated June '7, 1904.

Application filed October 5, 1903. Serial No. 175,827. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS WITTBoLiD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook'and State of Illinois,

' have invented certain new and useful Improvelarge number of plantssimultaneously and qulckly and at the same time give a more uniformwetting action than is possible where each plant is sprayed individuallyby hand.

The apparatus further relates to the arconsists in the features ofconstruction and combination of. parts hereinafter describedand claimed.v

In the drawings illustrating the invention,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a greenhouse, showingthe arrangement of pipes preferably employed in the spraying of largeplants; Fig. 2, a similar view showing the arrangement of pipespreferably employed in the spraying of small plants; Fig. 3, acrosssectional view of the pipe arrangement of Fig.

1; Fig. 4, a similar view of the pipe arrangement of Fig. 2; Fig. 5, adevice for manipulating the pipe of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 a modi- 'ficationof the discharge-pipe. I,

As shown, this invention is employed in a greenhouse A of any suitableshape or style of construction, in which the plants are arranged uponbenches a, extending longitudinally of the greenhouse, and in Fig. l aseries of large plants B are shown arranged in pots or jars a suitabledistance from one another to allow of the spraying operation, and, asshown in Fig. 3, two or more rows of plants can be arranged upon thesame bench, having the plants arranged one behind another to leave astraight aisle or channel between the plants for the manipulation of thespraying apparatus of this invention. It is ordinarily desirable tospray the plants from beneath, for the reason that a more uniform andthorough watering or spraying is thereby ob-' tained and for the furtherreason that astream of water directed against the under surfaces of theleaves washes away worms or insects which ordinarily collect at thispoint and which it is impossible to spray by a hose or hand-sprinkler.Where the plants to be sprayed are of considerable size or where it isdesirable to di rect a stream of water downwardly thereon, the pipearrangement of Fig. l is employed, in which G represents a header-pipeextending longitudinally of the greenhouse and journaled at the points 00 to oscillate, and into the header-pipe is inserted a suitable hose D,which may be connected with the city main or other suitable source ofwater-supply. At suitable points along the header-pipe are arrangedbranch pipes (Z, which are fixedlyinserted into the header-pipe andadapted to swing or rock therewith, and said branch pipes are properlyspaced to'swing between the rows of plants on the bench beneath andspray the adjacent rows of plants when the header-pipe is rocked oroscillated. Each of the branch pipes terminates in a dischargepipe d atright angles to the branch pipe and provided on its end with a nozzle (Zadapted to discharge a fan-shaped sheet of water in a plane parallel tothe header-pipe, and the head of water employed should be of suflicientstrength, so that the spray from adjoining branch pipes will unite in acontinuous sheet extending the entire length of the bench, as shown inFig. 1. The several branch pipes are provided with valves E foradmitting wa- -ter to the nozzles. At a convenient point in theheader-pipe is a lever 0 fixedly attached tothe header, which enablesthe same to be rocked or oscillated, thereby swinging the branch pipestransversely of the bench and down the rows or aisles, as shown bydotted lines in Fig. 3. By this method the entire number of plants arewatered at a single turn of the header-pipe, and the water is driven upbeneath the leaves of the plants to remove bugs or insects which mayhave collected thereon. Where it is desirable to water the plants fromabove, the nozzle (Z can be arranged beneath the discharge-pipe, as inFig. 6, and the branch pipe shortened to raise the discharge-pipe abovethe tops of the plants,

thereby allowing the sheet of water to be directed down rather than upagainst the plants.

In cases where the plants are small the apparatus of Fig. '1 wouldnotbesuitable, for the reason that when the discharge-pipes are swung backand forth the nozzle will be raised at one point more than another byreason of the swing of the pipe, as shown in Fig. 3, and where this isthe case the pipe arrangement of Fig. 2 will be found more advantageous.In this case a header-pipe F is employed, which is supended from the topof the greenhouse by means of linked rodsf or other suitable means at apoint slightly above the bench upon which the plants are arranged and ina line parallel therewith, and said header-pipe is provided with aseries of dischargepipes f, connected with the header-pipe by means ofswivel-joints f which allow the dischargepipes to be moved or swung withrespect to the header-pipe without allowing the escape of watertherefrom. On the end of the discharge-pipes are arrangedupwardly-projecting nozzles (Z similar to those hitherto described, andeach discharge-pipe f is provided on its end with a wheel or roller fwhich is adapted to travel back and forth over the surface of the benchand between the rows of plants thereon, constantly maintaining thenozzle at the same height above the bench regardless of the position ofthe headerpipe or of the angle between the header-pipe and thedischarge-pipes. In this way the sheet of water from the nozzles will beat the same height across the entire width of the bench, which enablesthe device to be used with small plants which cannot be treated by theappliance of Fig. 1. The header-pipe of Fig. 2 can be operated by handor by means of a rack or other suitable mechanism, as shown in Fig. 5,in which G represents one of the series of rack-bars attached to theheader pipe F and extending backwardly therefrom at suitable intervalsand adapted to be operated by means of a series of pinions g, arrangedupon a longitudinally-extending shaft g, suitably journaled beneath thebench upon which the flowers are located and adapted to be rotated bymeans of a handle 9 to simultaneously move the rack-bars and swing theheader-pipe to and from the bench. It is plain, however, that othersuitable means of effecting this result may be employed without in anyway changing the character of the invention.

From the foregoing description it will be plain that a continuous sheetof water of a considerable length can be moved across a bench of plantsat a single operation and a large number of plants sprayed at a pointWhere the water will produce the most beneficial results, and inaddition to the saving of time and labor the operation can be performedat a point where there will be no danger to the operator of wettinghimself during the spraying operation, all of which are features ofgreat importance in the cultivation of plants.

Although the invention has been described with considerableparticularity, it is plain that some of the features may be changed orvaried without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus for spraying plants in a greenhouse, the combinationof a header-pipe extending longitudinally of the greenhouse andsupported from the roof thereof, a series of discharge-pipes connectedwith the headerpipe and adapted to travel between the plants and havingsimultaneous movement imparted thereto by the movement of theheader-pipe, and a series of nozzles on the discharge-pipes forprojecting water transversely of the discharge-pipes for watering theplants adjacent thereto, substantially as described. I

2. In adevice for spraying plants in agreenhouse, the combination of aheader-pipe supported within the greenhouse, a series ofdischarging-pipes in angular relation to the header-pipe and extendingbetween the rows of plants within the greenhouse and adapted to be movedin a direction transverse to the header-pipe by the movement of theheaderpipe, and a series of nozzleson the dischargepipes adapted toproject water in a sheet transversely of the discharge-pipes forWatering the plants adjacent thereto, substantially as described.

3. In a device for spraying plants, the combination of a benchof plants,the header-pipe journaled in parallel position to and above a bench ofplants, a branch pipe depending from the header-pipe and fixedlyattached thereto and adapted to swing therewith, a discharge-pipe inangular relation to the branch pipe and adapted to swing transversely ofthe bench of plants, and a nozzle on the branch pipe adapted todischarge a sheet of water in transverse relation to the discharge-pipe,substantially as described.

4. In a device for spraying plants, the combination of a bench ofplants, the -header-pipe supported in a position to swing above a benchof plants and in parallel relation thereto, a discharge -pipe in angularrelation to the header-pipe and adapted to swing with respect thereto tohave its end supported by the bench regardless of the swing of theheader-pipe, and a nozzle on the discharge-pipe adapted to dischargeWater transversely of the dischargepipe and in parallel relation withthe bench, substantially as described.

5. In a device for spraying plants, the combination of a bench ofplants, the header-pipe adapted to be hung in parallel relation to andabove a bench of plants, a series of dischargepipes connected with theheader-pipe adapted to swing with respect thereto and have their freeends supported by the bench, and a series of nozzles on thedischarge-pipes adapted to discharge Water transversely of thedischargepipe, substantially as described.

6. In a device for spraying plants, the combination of a bench ofplants, the header-pipe adapted to be hung in parallel relation to andabove a bench of plants, a series of dischargepipes connected With theheader-pipe adapted to swing With respect thereto and have their freeends supported by the bench, a series of nozzles on the discharge-pipesadapted to discharge Water transversely of the dischargepipes, and aseries of Wheels on the ends of .the discharge-pipes for allowing thesame to be moved back and forth transversely of the bench with themovement of the header-pipe, substantially as described.

LOUIS WVITTBOLD. Witnesses:

SAMUEL W. BANNING, WALKER BANNING.

